The third estate of any government is the Local Authorities (LA). The LA is the face of the government dealing with the day-to-day and the bread-and-butter issues of our rakyat.

They need the best and right people to carry out their tasks and duties in a professional manner.

The issuing of licenses for advertisements, sale of liquors and running of businesses; the management of hawker stalls and proper waste disposal; the maintenance of playgrounds and bus stops, street lamps and traffic lights, drain issues and grass cutting – these are just a few of the many issues related to the rakyat that are directly under the care and control of the LA and/or town councils.

The overseeing of these sectors rests on the level of dedication and responsibility of the LA, and this can only be determined based on the performance of the LA team and the feedback of satisfaction from the rakyat.

The performance of any organization is based strongly on the efficacy of its staff and of course its leader or the CEO; such a rule is of no exception for the LA and city council.

The mayor of the LA, the Yang DiPertua (YDP), must be a person focused on bridging the gaps between the rakyat and the government.

With a caring, responsive, reliable and conscientious mayor, the LA should have no problem resolving issues amicably and rapidly.

There are two types of officers in the civil service. One is the Pegawai Tadbir & Diplomatik or PTD (Diplomatic Administrative Officer, DAO) and the other is Pegawai Tadbir Awam or PTA (Public Administration Officer, PAO).

Ninety percent of all civil service heads of department, chief secretaries of all ministries and director generals are PTD.

The Selangor state has promoted four PTD with appointments to various departments in the state. This was not met with much enthusiasm among the PTA.

The grief and grievances of the PTA can be compiled into a voluminous thousand-page book, showing how the PTA are constantly overlooked for promotions and the PTD are biasedly given higher positions.

An officer commented that “…This is a cartel, which is causing so much pain…” for the PTA. This is a practice that has been ongoing since Malaya was born, thus giving a premium interest and benefit to the PTD and totally ignoring the PTA.

Simultaneously, the recent internal promotion of a PTA to the position of Deputy Mayor within MBPJ (Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya – Petaling Jaya City Council) did not go well with certain segments of PTD for fear that this would jeopardize the positions of the current PTD officers and future promotions of similar scope.

To top off this issue, there has also been an overdue neglect of promotion opportunities for the local authority staff for many years.

Some have remained in the same grade or level for as long as fifteen years without a hint of promotion or upgrade in any way.

The key requirement of a YDP or a Mayor is that he or she must be a qualified government officer who can take on and manage the responsibilities and duties required by the position.

The role of a mayor is to look into the management of the city such as the development, maintenance and also better planning for the future of the city in line with the state visions.

In my opinion, professionals with years of experience in technical and management are better to fill up the post as development in any area needs a person with sound technical background knowledge too.

There is an estimated number of 155 local councils in Malaysia, and it is believed that only less than 10% of the appointed individuals are PTA.

It is unjust to say that none of them are up to par to being promoted, as there are many who go out of their way to perform their duties to the utmost best.

For instance, in over 50 years of MBPJ’s existence, not a single internal officer has ever been appointed the city’s mayor.

Should anyone mention the lack of ability among the staff to hold this position, then I strongly beg to differ as I have worked with such dedicated directors of MBPJ and I regard them very highly. 

The directors and their staff are always ready to reach out with a keen ear and a lending hand to resident association activists such as myself.

They do their jobs well, with some even willing to work extra hours and on weekends too, just to uphold the interest of the rakyat.

It is a great wonder as to why their efforts are being blindsided and rewards being biasedly handed out to an undeserving party.

It is up to the respective states whom they want to appoint as a mayor. For example, the first and second mayors of MBSA (Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam – Shah Alam City Council) were from respective political backgrounds. Another MBSA mayor was appointed from the Selangor State Planning Directorate. Clearly, it is not compulsory for the appointment to be only of PTD.

The current town or city council mayors of Penang, Seberang Perai, Klang and Sepang, for instance, are PTA members and are in fact doing a great job while also representing their respective councils in international forums and delivering their best services to their stakeholders. 

These are the type of leaders that the rakyat want – a competent and completely devoted individual and not a stranger from simply any sector.

LAs are super niche and service-orientated, and not in need of mere paper pushers.

One greatly pressing issue today involving our rakyat is the massive construction being carried out with regards to the LRT, MRT and several new highways. The construction has caused and is still causing tremendous inconveniences to everyone – traffic congestion, noise and air pollution, uncontrolled possibilities of floods, danger to the ecosystem, tarnishes to our surroundings, and many more unpleasant accidents throughout the nation.

A good mayor and his/her team must be aware of these problems, act fast and handle all issues, and manage their respective states and communities.

Look for options or solutions to lessen the rakyat’s burdens; the mayor is chosen for the people, so the mayor must care for the interest of his/her people and not the interest in his/her pockets or personal gains of any kind.

The new government must scrutinize and ensure that there is fairness in the appointment of mayors and directors rather than offering the positions or seats to undeserving PTD.

The promotion exercise must be seriously looked into based on their characters, experiences and qualifications.

If the government pays more and immediate attention to the third estate and brings out greater justice, fairness and inculcate higher jurisprudence, the local authorities will certainly do a greater job in sustainable building and engineering greater projects, sustainable environment and a greater nation.

I strongly recommend a commission to be formed with the main onus to look into the woes of the LA in order to provide greater transparency and confidence to these drained and victimized civil servants.

Internal promotions must be given to allow greater continuity and sustainability of the activities and programs carried out by the LA. 

No one must ignore the importance of the LA as they make or break a nation.

(Ravindran Raman Kutty is an active social worker.)